"I think it's important to show support for the family, to come together as a community. This community is a good, tight community; always coming together to help each other out," Decatur Baptist Church Pastor Kevin Jodrey said.

"That's what we do. That's our town. This is how we live; we help each other," Decatur resident Annie Staggs said.

Witnesses to the shooting's aftermath said it was a traumatic experience.

"I heard a bunch of commotion and kids screaming and yelling. They were yelling, 'Help! Help!' and then one yelled, 'My brother's been shot,'" Byrd Township volunteer firefighter Danny Hicks said.

"I seen the mother come out holding the young boy in her arms, and she was screaming, 'Help, my son's been shot!'" he said.

Hicks said he helped perform first aid on the boy and called for a helicopter.

"I know that they're doing everything they can for him, and it's in God's hands now," he said.

Swartz was airlifted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for treatment, where he was listed in critical condition.

Missy Day, the owner of the nearby Corner Mart, said the boy's sister was a good sibling.

"She took really good care of her brothers and sisters. I think they're a pretty close family, and I think she's probably having a really hard time with this," Day said.

Deputies said the gun was in a bedroom but was apparently not locked away. The boy's mother was in another room.

Swartz is a third-grader at Russellville Elementary, where he began attending school last fall. A counselor was at the school Tuesday to talk with his classmates.

Neighbors said the boy's father is an Army veteran who was recently medically discharged after being hurt during his third tour of Afghanistan.